28th & 29th April 2025

Ten days in Adelaide was just the ticket.

So good to get off the bike and not think about cycling! Though I did explore the Torrens River Linear Park on Good Friday.

What can I say about Adelaide? A very pleasant city with a nice, relaxed vibe. Metro system was easy to use, plenty of places to eat and drink, wide, tree lined streets, and an ambience that said, ‘hey, come and relax. Enjoy the hedonistic lifestyle for a short period, after all, you’ve earnt it!’

Great to catch up with Sue and the family, though another round of farewells at the end of the sojourn was pretty tough!

Bike on Train to Gawler

Caught the first train out of Adelaide on the Sunday morning, along with the throng of ‘all night’ party revellers heading home. I heard one guy mutter, “loser”, as he walked past me and the bike😂😂 He was much bigger than me, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Joined the Barossa wine trail from Gawler, some 35km meandering through vineyards. All very pretty, but the grapes have long been picked and having worked on vineyards in a previous life, all pretty ho-hum.

The rail trail was all bitumen and you would think it would have been busy, but along it’s length I passed one cyclist and half a dozen runners.

Jacobs Creek Winery Sculpture

 Approaching Tanunda, the trail traversed through the Jacobs Creek vineyards, a massive enterprise and pretty impressive, and I could imagine that if you lived near the area, a weekend’s wine tasting by bicycle would be a very pleasant experience.

I had a coffee in Tanunda, because I was feeling a bit down and a tad lonely. This long distance cycling is a tough gig, especially immediately following happy times in Adelaide. 😒

The Barossa Trail ended for me in Nurioopta, where I joined country roads towards Kapunda.

You may be wondering why I’m avoiding the Mawson Trail. The answer is Caltrope (Three cornered Jack). A vicious weed that has caused such frustration over the years that anyone attempting the trail now, travels with tubeless tyres (self-sealing). Unfortunately, I am travelling with tubes, as the extra strong wheels I installed (to better carry heavy loads) are not tubeless compatible. So, yes, I’m a coward, but who cares. With luck, and a good tail wind, I shall avoid the worst areas and look at joining the trail somewhere north of Laura.

DRY COUNTRY

29th April 2025

So much for careful planning…

Puncture Repair

The Culprit "Calthrope'

Woke up to be confronted by a flat tyre. I re-inflated but it went down immediately. I couldn’t find the cause initially, but removing the tube and finding the hole enabled me to pinpoint the location of the breach on the tyre, and yes, it was a three cornered jack.

Break at Tarlee

The journey to Tarlee seemed to be all up hill, which was confirmed with a long descent into Riverton. At some roadworks on the way, the traffic management worker at the traffic lights insisted I wait until all the vehicles had gone through with me bringing up the rear, which was nice of her as she was concerned for my safety. But the vehicles waiting at the other end of the 1km stretch gave me some nasty looks for holding them up 😂🤣😂. I had a coffee in Riverton to try and put a happy face on the day. 😊

The Rattler rail trail was a smooth, undulating, gravel track that, after 20kms, placed me in Auburn, the campsite for the night.

Kapunda Campsite

A small supermarket in Riverton provided the bread rolls and ham for tonight’s meal.

Thoughts… coffee no longer feels like a treat, and I am getting sick of bread based meals🤣🤣.